Here is the third installment of a series that checks in with the seven Division III programs in the state to evaluate the past and offer a glimpse into the future. Monday’s visit takes us to St. Mary’s.

REVIEW

The good: Record-wise, the Seahawks took a few steps back, falling to 6-9 overall and 4-4 in the Capital Athletic Conference after going 10-6 and 5-2, respectively, in 2010. But coach Chris Hasbrouck said the players are in place to continue the program’s evolution. “Even though the record didn’t maybe show it, I think we can see that we’re continuing to build the program and hopefully moving toward what might be a top-15, top-10 type of team,” he said. “It’s a work in progress, and I think we’re recruiting the right guys and they’re doing the right things to get there. … We can accept the 6-9 record as long as that is part of moving forward and becoming the team we want to be.” … For the third consecutive year, St. Mary’s advanced to the conference tournament semifinals. The Seahawks avenged a 7-4 regular-season loss to conference foe York on March 30 with a 14-9 victory in the tournament’s first round before losing to Stevenson, 16-7, on April 20. The advancement was an encouraging sign for Hasbrouck. “I’m not a moral victory guy, but to make the semifinals was good for these guys,” he said. “Now we need to move forward and get to the championship game.” … After limping out to a 2-7 start, the team went 4-2 after April 2. The rough start bothered Hasbrouck, but he also expressed satisfaction with the squad’s perseverance when the players could have folded. “I think our overall growth was solid, and I think we played our best lacrosse at the end of the year,” he said. “Everything was clicking a little bit better.”

Continue reading "Review & preview: St. Mary's" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Review & preview, St. Mary's
        

Stevenson seniors Jimmy Dailey and Evan Douglass and Salisbury senior Johnny Rodriguez headline a group of players for area Division III programs that earned All-American honors.

Dailey was named the nation’s Outstanding Player of the Year by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association on Wednesday. Dailey, a Westminster native and Winters Mill graduate, led the country in points (118) and assists (58) this season and is the Mustangs’ all-time leader in points (329) and assists (163).

Douglass was chosen as the Outstanding Defensive Player. His 59 caused turnovers are first in the nation, and he graduates as the school’s career leader in caused turnovers with 136.

Rodriguez was selected as the National Goalkeeper of the Year. His 5.97 goals-against average ranks third in the country, and he ranks fourth in school history with 475 career saves in three years at Salisbury.

Those three players made the All-American first team. They were joined by Salisbury junior attackman Matt Cannone, junior midfielder Sam Bradman and senior defenseman Collin Tokosch.

Continue reading "Three area players earn national distinction" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Goucher, McDaniel, Salisbury, St. Mary's, Stevenson
        

Attackman Jimmy Dailey headlined a group of seven Stevenson players to be named to the Capital Athletic Conference first and second teams, the league announced Wednesday.

Dailey, a senior from Westminster who graduated from Winters Mill, is the first Mustang to capture the Player of the Year honors, breaking Salisbury’s 16-year stranglehold on the award. Dailey, who leads Division III in points per game (5.9) and total assists (51), is a four-time first-team selection and a former Rookie of the Year in 2007.

Freshman long-stick midfielder Ryan Rubenstein shares the Rookie of the Year award with Frostburg State attackman Ryan Serio. Hood coach Jeremy Mattoon shares Coach of the Year honors with Mary Washington’s Kurt Glaeser. Mattoon guided the Blazers to their first berth in the CAC tournament.

Joining Dailey on the first team are senior attackman Neal Barthelme, senior midfielder Kyle Moffitt, senior defenseman Evan Douglass and senior faceoff specialist Ray Witte.

Continue reading "Stevenson's Dailey named CAC Player of the Year" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Hood, Salisbury, St. Mary's, Stevenson
        

Players from Loyola, UMBC, Stevenson and St. Mary’s were recipients of weekly honors from their respective conferences.

Senior goalkeeper Jake Hagelin was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week after he made a career-best 18 saves in No. 19 Loyola’s 6-5 four-overtime win against Georgetown on Sunday. The Havre de Grace native and Boys’ Latin graduate made six of his stops in the extra session and also collected four ground balls.

Sophomore attackman Scott Jones was cited by the America East as its Player of the Week for his five-goal performance in UMBC’s 13-9 victory over Albany on Saturday night. Four of those five goals occurred in the fourth quarter, and Jones currently leads the Retrievers with 17.

Continue reading "Loyola, UMBC, Stevenson, St. Mary's earn weekly awards" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Loyola, St. Mary's, Stevenson, UMBC
        

St. Mary’s is making its third straight appearance in the semifinals of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament, but the Seahawks (6-8 overall and 4-4 in the CAC) have not beaten Stevenson since April 20, 2007. The newly-anointed No. 1 Mustangs (15-1, 8-0) have lost just one game at Caves Athletic Complex in Owings Mills since the beginning of the 2010 season. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome on Wednesday.

1) Settle the unsettled. Stevenson is most dangerous when given the opportunity to control the tempo of games and then run amok. Having a faceoff specialist like senior Ray Witte (176-of-270 for .652 percentage) helps either igniting the fastbreak or simply giving possession to the offense. St. Mary’s coach Chris Hasbrouck said slowing down the Mustangs in unsettled situations is the biggest challenge. “They’re tough between the lines,” he said. “They do a great job in their unsettled offense. They just move the ball extremely well, they’ve got a couple kids who have been playing together for a long time at attack, and they finish very, very well. Their midfielders can push the pace. So we’ve got to defend. The ground balls in the middle of the field are going to be huge, and we’ve got to execute.”

Continue reading "St. Mary's at Stevenson: Three things to watch" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: St. Mary's, Stevenson, Three things to watch
        

St. Mary’s three-game winning streak is not necessarily a coincidence, according to coach Chris Hasbrouck.

The injury-plagued Saints Seahawks are getting healthy and just in time for Wednesday’s Capital Athletic Conference tournament semifinal at newly anointed No. 1 Stevenson.

“Without a doubt, we’re playing our best lacrosse of the year now,” Hasbrouck said. “We had a few injuries earlier in the year that we’ve overcome, and we’re excited to be here right now. There’s only four Capital Athletic Conference teams playing, and we’re one of them. So that’s a good thing.”

Freshman midfielder Gordy Long missed six games while nursing a high ankle sprain, and starting short-stick defensive midfielders Colin Gload and Tim Fortner have missed a few games in the middle of the season with unspecified injuries.

Continue reading "CORRECTION: St. Mary's rounding into health -- and maybe form" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Salisbury, St. Mary's, Stevenson
        

This entry is the fourth in a series taking a look at each of the seven Division III programs in this state according to their order of finish from last season. The Sun’s lacrosse preview is slated to be published on Thursday, Feb. 17. Today is St. Mary’s turn.

Overview: Expectations are rising as the Seahawks continue to develop under coach Chris Hasbrouck, who is 18-13 in two seasons. After finishing third in the Capital Athletic Conference and compiling a 10-6 record, the team has earned spots in preseason polls by Inside Lacrosse (No. 18) and Lacrosse Magazine (No. 20). The biggest obstacle to St. Mary’s winning the conference tournament crown and qualifying for the school’s first NCAA Tournament? In-state rivals Stevenson and Salisbury. Still, the Seahawks are eager to test their mettle against their opponents.

Reason for optimism: The offense graduated just one starter in midfielder Ryan Alexander and returned 13 of its top 15 scorers from last season. The returning players are well-versed in Hasbrouck’s system, which means that there’s less time in practice spent on getting players familiar with the plays. “We’re not having to teach the majority of the team what we’re doing on the offensive end,” Hasbrouck said. “Practices were extremely smooth – from the fall right into the beginning of spring. We’re all on the same page right now, and we’ve got the luxury of working a bunch of different combinations of players. That’s been great. I think we’re clicking right now. Thirteen of our top 15 scorers are back, and the last two freshmen classes have been really strong. So they’re giving us great depth. It has been nice.”

Reason for pessimism: Losing Alexander sapped the offense of its top playmaker from the midfield. Hasbrouck is confident and seniors Chris Becraft (12 goals and six assists), Chris Morihlatko (10, 6) and Bobby Cooke (12, 0) and sophomore Patrick Mull (7, 25) can fill the void, but the team is still experimenting with the right personnel for the first line. “I think if anything now, more guys are going to have the opportunity to step to the front and take a little bit more responsibility on themselves,” Hasbrouck said. “… I think we’re spreading the ball a lot more. We can attack from a lot of different areas on the field. We have good variety of midfielders right now, and I think that’s going to help us.”

Continue reading "St. Mary's preview" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: St. Mary's
        

Here is the fourth installment of a series that checks in with the seven Division III programs in the state to give a glimpse into the past and the future. Monday, we take a visit with St. Mary’s. (Coach Chris Hasbrouck did not return a few requests for comment.)

Continue reading "Review & preview: St. Mary's" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Review & preview, St. Mary's
        

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association announced the rosters for the Division III North-South All-Star Game on Friday at 3 p.m. at Goucher.

Stevenson and St. Mary’s each put two players on the South team. The Mustangs players are attackman Steve Kazimer and goalkeeper Geoff Hebert, while the Seahawks players are midfielder Ryan Alexander and defenseman Ryder Henry.

The South team will also include three players with high school ties to the Baltimore metropolitan area. They are Roanoke long-stick midfielder and Mount St. Joseph graduate Steve Simmons, Cabrini attackman and Dulaney graduate Rich Romanelli and Washington and Lee attackman and Gilman graduate Will Keigler.

Nazareth long-stick midfielder and Catonsville graduate Kyle Brown will play for the North team.

The South team will be coached by Goucher coach Kyle Hannan.

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: St. Mary's, Stevenson
        

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association released its All-American list for the 2010 season, and three players from Stevenson and Salisbury made the first team.

Senior attackman Steve Kazimer and junior attackman Jimmy Dailey represented the Mustangs. Kazimer led the team in assists (49) and points (95) and ranked second in goals (46). Kazimer ranked 12th in the nation in points per game (4.57) and 11 in assists per game (2.38). Dailey was second among Stevenson players in assists (37) and third in goals (44) and points (81).

The Sea Gulls, who will meet Tufts on Sunday for the national championship, were represented on the first team by sophomore midfielder Sam Bradman, who led the team in goals (58) and points (85).

Continue reading "Stevenson, Salisbury top All-American list" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Goucher, McDaniel, Salisbury, St. Mary's, Stevenson
        

No. 1 Stevenson, No. 3 Salisbury and St. Mary's peppered the All-Capital Athletic Conference teams announced Wednesday by the league.

The Mustangs, who became the first program other than Salisbury to capture the tournament championship, put six players on the all-conference first team, including all three attackmen in seniors Steve Kazimer and Richie Ford (Towson) and junior Jimmy Dailey (Winters Mills). Junior defenseman Evan Douglass, junior midfielder Kyle Moffit and junior face-off specialist Ray Witte also made the first team.

The Sea Gulls were represnted by five first-team players, including sophomore midfielder Sam Bradman who was named the Player of the Year. Bradman, who is the only Division III player among the 26 semifinalists for the Tewaaraton Award, is the 16th straight Salisbury player to be named the conference's Player of the Year.

The Sea Gulls placed senior midfielder Mike Von Kamecke, junior defenseman Collin Tokosch (Broadneck), senior long-stick midfielder Connor Burgasser and junior goalkeeper Johnny Rodriguez (Mount St. Joseph) on the first team. Jim Berkman was selected as the Coach of the Year for the eighth time in his career.

St. Mary's senior defenseman Ryder Henry also made the first team.

Continue reading "Stevenson, Salisbury, St. Mary's dominate all-conference teams" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Salisbury, St. Mary's, Stevenson
        

Wednesday marks the semifinal round of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament with top seed and Division III’s top-ranked team Salisbury playing host to No. 5 seed Mary Washington. It’s a rematch of an earlier contest that the Sea Gulls won, 15-7, on March 31.

The other semifinal pits No. 3 seed St. Mary’s visiting No. 2 seed Stevenson at 4 p.m. at Caves Athletic Complex in Owings Mills. The Mustangs (14-1 overall and 6-1 in the conference) defeated the Seahawks (9-5, 5-2), 13-10, on April 13, but the game was a lot tighter than the final score indicated, according to both coaches.

St. Mary’s outshot Stevenson, 24-11, in the second half and committed nine fewer turnovers over the same span. But the Seahawks converted just 3-of-11 extra-man opportunities, which included failing to score when three Mustangs were serving a one-minute penalty at the same time.

"The problem with man up is, one ill-advised shot and you’ve lost the opportunity," St. Mary’s coach Chris Hasbrouck said. "I think that’s what happened a couple times. I think the biggest thing was, they went three-men down for a minute, and we took two bad shots that missed the goal and had a third shot that rang the pipe. I don’t want to say that was a turning point, but it’s certainly something that we’ve talked about as a team. We had great looks, we just didn’t finish. One or two shots might’ve made things different."

Hasbrouck also pointed out that Stevenson sophomore goalkeeper Ian Bolland made 13 of his game-high 16 saves in the second half. Hasbrouck said the Seahawks must be choosier with their shot selection.

Continue reading "CAC Tournament date for Stevenson, St. Mary's" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: St. Mary's, Stevenson
        

Dennis Rosson became only the second player not from Salisbury or Stevenson to claim the Capital Athletic Conference's Player of the Week award, the league announced Monday.

The St. Mary's junior attackman joined York junior attackman Josh Gamble as the only players outside of Salisbury and Stevenson to claim this distinction.

Rosson, a Severna Park native and Severn graduate, posted 12 points on nine goals and three assists in three games for the Seahawks. He registered five goals and one assist in the team's 13-10 loss to No. 3 Stevenson last Tuesday.

Rosson added two goals and one assist each in a 13-9 victory over Mary Washington and a 13-8 win against Wesley in the opening round of the conference tournament. He ranks third in the league in goals per game (2.8) and sixth in points per game (4.0).

Posted by Edward Lee at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: St. Mary's
        

After taking a look at the Division I schools in Maryland, let’s take a spin with the Division III teams. Today’s entry is the fifth of a week-long series taking a look at each of the seven Division III programs in this state according to alphabetical order. Tomorrow’s subject will be Stevenson, but today is St. Mary’s turn.

Overview: The Seahawks finished with the same 5-2 record in the Capital Athletic Conference as Salisbury, but they compiled a 3-5 record outside the league. Long considered the Sea Gulls' biggest obstacle in the conference, St. Mary's has been leapfrogged by Stevenson, which has grabbed the local and national headlines. Coach Chris Hasbrouck is eager to get the program back into contention and a player in determining the NCAA Tournament field.

Reason for optimism: The Sea Gulls graduated just five players from last year's squad and only two of those players were starters. That means that a large majority of the players have had game experience, and Hasbrouck is hopeful that the players can convert that experience into more plays and potential wins. "We've been young for a while, and those kids are a year older," he said. "It's a great group. Seven of our top 10 scorers are back. So we hope we'll be able to lean on that earlier in the year."

Continue reading "St. Mary's preview" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Review & preview, St. Mary's
        

Last week's deluge has caused the Seahawks to move Sunday's season opener against Roanoke to Roanoke. That means that St. Mary's will open the campaign with three consecutive road games.

There's still six to eight inches of snow on the Bermuda grass field that the team plays on, and with temperatures barely hovering above freezing, melting will likely take a while.

"We just have to kind of wait until Mother Nature takes its course," coach Chris Hasbrouck said, noting that the Seahawks' first home game won't take place until March 10 against Wooster. "I'm hoping that the snow melts by then. I've been telling the guys, 'You worry about the things you can control.' There's nothing we can do."

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: St. Mary's
        

The USILA released its All American teams in Division III and a number of area players populate the list.

Stevenson, which finished the regular season ranked No. 1 and advanced to the school's first NCAA tournament semifinal, put attackmen Steve Kazimer and Jimmy Dailey on the first team. They were joined by Salisbury midfielder Kylor Berkman and Washington goalkeeper Gordon Cohen.

The Mustangs placed two more players on the second team: midfielder Nicola Bevacqua and defenseman Mike Simon. Salisbury defenseman Kevin Maynard was the only area representative on the third team.

The honorable mention list included Stevenson attackman Richie Ford and midfielder Greg Furshman, Salisbury attackman Matt Cannone and midfielder Mike Von Kamecke, Washington midfielder Thayer Damm, McDaniel midfielder Michael Hatton and St. Mary's midfielder Marc DiPasquale.

Update on Wednesday, May 20: I mistakenly left off St. Mary's midfielder Ryan Alexander from the All-American honorable mention list. Thanks to Seahawks sports information director Nairem Moran for pointing out the omission. My apologies to Ryan.

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: McDaniel, Salisbury, St. Mary's, Stevenson, Washington
        

Sea Gulls senior midfielder Kylor Berkman was named Player of the Year in the Capital Athletic Conference, becoming the fourth player in league history to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Freshman attackman Matt Cannone was recognized as the conference’s Rookie of the Year.

With Berkman, the reigning Division III National Player of the Year and two-time National Midfielder of the Year, the four players to win the award in consecutive years are from Salisbury. Berkman, who leads the team in assists (39) and points (74), joins Jason Coffman (1995-96), Chris Turner (1999-2000) and Chase Caruso (2006-07). A Sea Gulls player has been selected the CAC Player of the Year every year since the school joined the league in 1995.

Cannone leads Salisbury in goals (49) and man-up scores (nine), and he has also posted 13 assists. Cannone joins Jarod Leiberman (1998), Andy Arnold (2001) and Jeff Bigas (2002) as the only Sea Gulls to collect conference rookie of the year honors.

In addition to Berkman and Cannone, senior defenseman Kevin Maynard, junior face-off specialist Ryan Finch (Westminster) and junior defensive midfielder Will Poletis (Loyola) were placed on the second team.

Continue reading "Capital Athletic Conference honorees announced" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Salisbury, St. Mary's, Stevenson
        

To say that the Seahawks’ 11-10 victory over eight-time reigning Division III national champion Salisbury was big is a bit of an understatement.

St. Mary’s had not beaten the Sea Gulls since April 5, 1977. Prior to Friday’s outcome, Salisbury had won 37 consecutive meetings with its Capital Athletic Conference foe.

On a more real-time level, the win gave the Seahawks (7-5 overall and 5-2 in the conference) the No. 2 seed in the CAC Tournament and a first-round bye into Thursday’s semifinal matchup between the winner of No. 3 seed Salisbury (11-3, 5-2) and No. 6 seed Mary Washington (8-6, 2-5).

"Obviously, it’s a big win for the program," St. Mary’s coach Chris Hasbrouck said earlier on Monday. "The implications are we got a bye today, and that’s a huge thing. We can now really focus on getting an extra day’s rest. From that standpoint, it was a very, very big win."

The Seahawks were paced by a four-goal performance from sophomore attackman Dennis Rosson (Severn), a three-goal effort from junior midfielder Ryan Alexander (Pallotti) and a two-goal showing from sophomore midfielder Chris Becraft, who scored the game-winning tally with 0.2 seconds left in the game.

Continue reading "St. Mary's records one for history" »

Posted by Edward Lee at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: St. Mary's